RIT Named to Sierra Club’s List of Top 100 Green Schools

University included among list of most sustainable campuses in the nation

The Sierra Club conducts an annual survey of sustainability operations at American colleges and universities. In 2010, RIT was included in its Top 100

Rochester Institute of Technology’s efforts to develop comprehensive campus, research and education programs in sustainability have earned the university recognition as one of the most sustainable campuses in the nation.

The Sierra Club has selected RIT as one of America’s 100 greenest universities as part of its annual “Cool Schools” survey. It is the first time RIT has been selected.

“We are honored to be included in this list of green universities and commend the Sierra Club for its efforts to highlight sustainability on college campuses,” says RIT President Bill Destler. “RIT is committed to incorporating sustainability into all aspects of university operations, from construction and facilities management to research and education.”

The Sierra Club survey asked colleges and universities to provide detailed information on the implementation of sustainability in numerous areas of operation, including energy supply, academics, purchasing, administrative support and financial investments. RIT received a score of nine out of a possible 10 in the academics category and eight in purchasing and administrative support.

The university was also cited for the creation of the Golisano Institute for Sustainability and the Clean Energy Business Incubator, as well as its recent energy system upgrade.

The honor is one of several awards RIT has received for its sustainability efforts, including being selected for inclusion in the Princeton Review’s Guide to 286 Green Colleges and being named a “Campus Sustainability Leader” by the Sustainable Endowments Institute. For more information about RIT’s sustainability initiatives visit www.rit.edu/fa/ritgreen.

The Sierra Club is the oldest grassroots environmental organization in the United States and sponsors education initiatives and political advocacy in environmental management, pollution prevention and climate change at both the local and national level.

Note: Founded in 1829, RIT is an internationally recognized leader in professional and career-oriented education enrolling more than 15,200 students. In U.S. News and World Report: Best Colleges and Universities 2011, RIT ranks seventh in the “Best Universities – Master’s (North region)” category. The university is also featured as one of the nation’s best institutions for undergraduate education in The Princeton Review’s annual guide, The Best 373 Colleges and is included in the 2011 edition of The Fiske Guide to College, which features more than 300 of the country’s best and most interesting colleges and universities.

The Sierra Club conducts an annual survey of sustainability operations at American colleges and universities. In 2010, RIT was included in its Top 100